Argent Advisors Inc. Purchases 9,052 Shares of Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT)

Argent Advisors Inc. increased its position in Walmart Inc. (NYSE:WMT) by 27.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 41,972 shares of the retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,052 shares during the quarter. Walmart makes up about 1.4% of Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Argent Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walmart were worth $3,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Coyle Financial Counsel LLC now owns 3,431 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. SC&H Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 10,232 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC now owns 15,685 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Van Strum & Towne Inc. boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Van Strum & Towne Inc. now owns 6,849 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $619,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the period. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Walmart by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Scarborough Advisors LLC now owns 5,584 shares of the retailer’s stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. 26.76% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WMT shares. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $93.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of Walmart from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Walmart from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Walmart

In other news, CEO C Douglas Mcmillon sold 29,124 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.35, for a total transaction of $2,689,601.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 3,785,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,609,579.70. The trade was a 0.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John R. Furner sold 13,125 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.15, for a total transaction of $1,261,968.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 460,672 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,293,612.80. This trade represents a 2.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 185,777 shares of company stock valued at $17,657,316. 45.58% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Walmart Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE WMT opened at $87.54 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $95.67 and its 200 day moving average is $88.88. The company has a market cap of $703.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.32, a PEG ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 0.53. Walmart Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.56 and a 52 week high of $105.30.

Walmart (NYSE:WMT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The retailer reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $180.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $178.83 billion. Walmart had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 21.87%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Walmart Inc. will post 2.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Walmart Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.235 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 12th. Walmart’s payout ratio is currently 39.00%.

About Walmart

Walmart Inc engages in the operation of retail, wholesale, other units, and eCommerce worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Walmart U.S., Walmart International, and Sam's Club. It operates supercenters, supermarkets, hypermarkets, warehouse clubs, cash and carry stores, and discount stores under Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Market brands; membership-only warehouse clubs; ecommerce websites, such as walmart.com.mx, walmart.ca, flipkart.com, PhonePe and other sites; and mobile commerce applications.